


i'll set you free (if its the last thing i do)

by JamJamho



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Canon Non-Binary Character, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Character's Name Spelled as Jaeger, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Long-Haired Eren Yeager, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, THIS STORY DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND ERURI!!!, alternative universe, canonverse, eren and his friends are all adults, just not in the flashbacks, more tags may be added as the story progresses, the setting is both canon and modern, there will be bits scattered here and there because i love them together, though predominantly canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28437768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamJamho/pseuds/JamJamho
Summary: A trip to the beach promises relaxation and a break from the exhausting routine Eren has found himself in. A escape from reality was expected, but Eren is alarmed when he suddenly wakes up in a completely different world, where his friends don't seems to know him and where walls surround everywhere he goes.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for picking this fic up! Enjoy and happy new year!

Heavy clouds gathered up in the sky like a grey sheet thrown over the scenery. They were dark and carried the immediate threat of rain, causing the people below them to walk hurriedly through the streets, the cold wind blowing whistles in the air. Not too long after the first signs of clouds appeared the rain began pouring down mercilessly, filling up the street's holes with water and creating little grey pools that mirrored the action above them. As the fat raindrops fell, people started running for shelter. One person in particular, an emerald eyed boy with messy brown hair stood out in the crowd with his mustard yellow sweater, creating a curious juxtaposition between his lively shape and the colorless people of the town. He carried himself fastly, running through the streets in search for shelter. A specific shelter, that is: a little tea shop squeezed between a flower shop and a thrift shop, with clear glass doors, cleaned to perfection with what the boy knew to be the most expensive cleaning products available. He turned a corner and internally cursed at his dirty boots: the shop owner would most definitely whoop his ass for that. The sight of the shop made a smile stretch open on his face, and before he could calculate his next moves carefully, his impulsiveness took the best of him and he pushed the glass doors open hurriedly, stepping in with a smile. 

"Eren!" 

Two voices called him at once, but only one of them expressed concern. The other? Well, the other expressed murder. 

"Eren Jaeger, stop right there!" 

__

_Oh-oh._

Eren watched with sheepish eyes as Levi eyed the little pool of dirt and rain that he had brought with him. Levi's sharp eyes moved slowly, starting from Eren's dripping brown boots to his almost drenched jeans, up to his yellow hoodie before finally settling on his eyes. Growing up many people had told Eren his gaze could be intimidating due to his bright eyes that seemed to see through everything, and maybe he'd agree to that before. But now, at twenty two years old standing in Levi's tea shop like a drenched cat, he feels like no one in the world can be as intimidating as that man.

"You brat. Stay where you are." Levi sighed, rubbing his temples before walking away from sight. He doesn't remember when he started storing slippers at the back of the shop, but for some reason it seemed fitting that he did so if his regulars were as dirty as they were. He opened one of the kitchen's cabinets and pulled from there a pair of soft pink slippers. The color reminded him of many years ago, when a big eyed boy walked in his store in a particularly boring day.

 _Levi was bent over the counter, face in his hands and apron tied loosely around his waist. There wasn't really anybody in the shop, saved for a couple of elders chatting lowly in one of the tables at the back. If he had to guess he'd say they were having an argument; one of those serious ones where nobody dares to raise their voice too high, afraid to pull the final straw that'd turn the event into a physical fight. Levi knew all too well about those._

_He was about to polish the spoons and knives for the millionth time that day when the bell at the door rang, making him look up expectantly. Except he had to look down, and down again until his eyes met the small figure of a boy. An angry, positively furious boy if the furrowed brows and clenched fists were anything to go by. He looked a little lost, eyes losing their glint for a split of second as he took in his surroundings._

_He obviously got there by accident._

_Levi huffed a breath, ready to send him off when the elder couple got up from the table and out of the shop, sending him a little wave as they went. Whatever it was, they seemed to have resolved it at least._

_By the time Levi went back behind the counter after collecting the payment the boy had already settled down in one of the stools at the counter, his back hunched and eyes wide. It was only then that Levi got to see the bruises that were scattered across the boy's face. A split in the bridge of the nose, a split in the lip and a big, purple bruise turning black in his eye._

_Levi felt pity for him._

_"Can I get you anything?"_

_But he still had a business to run._

_"Uh..." The boy's eyes snapped to Levi, growing wider as if he expected the store to be empty of both customers and staff, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. He went on to scratch his own eye, flinching horribly as soon as he touched the bruise. Levi thought about offering him a glass of water and a phone to call his mom and really, he was about to do just that when a thick, disgusting drop of blood fell from the boy's lips and onto the counter._

_"Oh, no, fuck no." Levi hurriedly wiped the counter, disinfecting it until he was sure he had removed that cursed layer off of the surface. The boy in front of him looked horrified, frozen in place not knowing whether to run for his life or stay for his cruel punishment._

_Levi felt mildly offended._

_Sure he could be harsh, but even he knew enough about children to know he shouldn't just snap at things they can't control. But he also knew if another drop fell, he wouldn't be so kind._

_"Want me to take a look at that?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"The bruises. S'okay if you don't want to, just don't go dripping all around the counter."_

_"Okay."_

_"Hm?"_

_"You can take a look at it."_

_And it was then that Levi learned that the boy had just moved to town and gotten himself in yet another fight, this time because some "horseface called me a suicidal bastard"_

_"Well and what did you do to get called that?" Levi's hand held the boy's - Eren was his name - head as he tried to clean the cut on his nose. It didn't seem broken, at least._

_"Nothing."_

_Levi squinted "yeah, sure."_

_"He... challenged me to jump off from one of those buildings behind that abandoned parking lot."_

_"So that's how you got yourself all fucked up?" He wasn't sure if it was proper to talk to a child like that. Eren didn't seem to mind._

_"No. I was about to do it when Jean called me a suicidal bastard, and that's how I got like this. He came out much worse, though."_

_Levi wasn't sure he believed that, but didn't press the matter. Truth is he wasn't expecting to ever see the boy again after he left the shop later that afternoon with a big scolding from his mom and an embarrassed thanks for taking care of him, so it definitely came off as a surprise when, not only a week later, Eren came back to the shop with two friends in tow and a fresh bruise on his face._

_Maybe it was around that time that Levi started leaving slippers at the back of the shop, feeling ten years older everytime he had to buy a new pair because they were growing so fast and- what was that Eren said? Graduation?_

_"What are you even talking about, kid." It really wasn't a question, more like a scolding for trying to deceive him so poorly._

_"What do you mean?"_

_Levi watched the puzzled look his friends - when did this many brats become his friends? - gave him, and he admits that he almost fell for their bullshit._

_"What are you graduating from? Middle school?_

_And really, they were all about to laugh, but Levi looked too serious in that moment. Krista was the first to break the silence, telling him as gently as she could that,_

_"Levi, we're graduating high school."_

_And they all laughed at the gasp the man let out, his brows shooting up in positive terror._

_"Huh?? I thought you were all like twelve??!!"_

Somewhere around that time, he started storing slippers.

At the front of the shop Eren did as he was told, not moving an inch except for his head snapping to the side when he heard the sound of steps coming forward. 

"Eren, you're drenched! I told you to bring an umbrella!" Mikasa gripped his shoulders, her perfectly plucked brows furrowed as she eyed him up and down just like Levi did mere seconds ago. Armin was beside her, his fluffy blond hair brushed to the side, revealing a little bit of forehead. He looked pretty, and Eren smiled despite the girl's scoldings. 

"Hey, Ar. Looking good." He commented with the sole purpose of making the other blush, and when Armin scratched the back of his neck Eren knew he had been successful. 

"Yeah, yeah, thanks Ren." Armin purposefully used a nickname Eren hated, and the tanned boy put his tongue out in childish protest, not being able to let a word in because soon Levi was walking out of the counter and in his direction, shooing his friends back to their table before handing him a mop and a bucket. Eren's nose scrunched up at the sight, but he didn't dare to complain.

"Keep making that face and I'll make you mop the entire floor," Levi said as if reading his mind, but it lacked bite. "Take off your boots and put these on", he said, offering Eren a pair of baby pink slippers. They looked soft, and Eren smiled at the sight. 

You see, Levi was known to be distant and very cold. That combined with his piercing gaze and strict cleaning rules made most people feel scared of the man despite his under average height. But those who knew Levi for long enough knew better than to take his snarky comments to heart, knowing that it wasn't hard to bring his soft and protective side to the surface, and that he constantly cared for his friends. That was the reason why Eren and his duo respected the man so much, although every now and then Mikasa dared to bring up his height, just to stir him up a little bit, and it was always funny to see Levi's angry and soft sides collide as he questioned whether to ignore the girl or kick her ass out of the shop. He usually did the former, albeit reluctantly. Now, Levi's soft side was out, materialized into the world in the form of fluffy baby pink slippers. It was cute. 

"Stop smiling, kid. You're still mopping every inch of the floor you dirtied with your shitty boots." Levi smirked devilishly, grabbing Eren's boots and putting them at the back of the refrigerator to dry. Eren's smile fell, replaced by a pissed off pout as he put the slippers on and started mopping the floor.

 _Cute my ass_ , he thought. _More like grumpy old man._

He was finished not too long after that, handing Levi his mop before turning the sign at the door from open to closed as asked by the older man. It was already getting late and the storm outside wouldn't bring any customers in, so it was best to close now that the little trio were the only customers there. Eren then made his way to the table Mikasa and Armin were at, one in the far corner of the shop just beside a big window. The table was made out of wood and circular, and his friends were sat closely to each other. Eren pulled a chair and slouched on it, facing both of his friends with a tired sigh.

"What took you so long?" Armin asked, eyeing the storm through the window before adding "besides the rain, of course."

"Well…" Eren looked out of the window distractedly, trying to put his thoughts in order. "My dad…" it took him a few moments to get the words together, but nor Mikasa or Armin tried to interrupt his line of thought, both already used to Eren's tendency of dispersing his mind to other places when the subject at hand just isn't interesting enough. 

The most memorable time that happened was in their first day of high school when Eren had fallen asleep in class, not used to waking up at the ass crack of dawn just to go to school. His arms cushioned his head from the desk, drool pooling at his uniform's sleeves as he lowly muttered 'exterminate, exterminate, exterminate'. Whatever it was that Eren dreamt was frightening enough to make him bolt awake with a loud, slurred yell of 'exterminate!!" Needless to say he became known as the 'exterminate boy' for the rest of the school year. The nickname was wildly spread by no one other than Jean, a fact that surprised an exact number of zero people. 

Needless to say, it wasn't any surprise if Eren took time to align his thoughts, especially since he seemed to have so many.

"Something strange happened, now that I think about it…" he looked at his friends with his brows furrowed as if trying to decipher the past events. Armin sensed something was wrong, interjecting with a slight frown of his own:

"Is everything ok, Eren?"

"You look pale," Mikasa added slowly, and both men could see the worry starting to bubble inside her chest. "Did something happen?"

"That's the thing, I'm not sure…" his vagueness was starting to annoy Mikasa, and she gripped the teacup a little too tightly before speaking again: 

"Did somebody do something to you? Are you in trouble?"

The words finally snapped Eren out of his trance, and he shook his head quickly. "No, no, nothing happened. It's just that… my dad, he was acting all weird. He was telling me about having this feeling in his chest that something important was gonna happen soon…"

Eren was used to his dad being a weirdo. Not in a frightening or concerning way, though. Grisha was just a man that always seemed to have a little more to talk about than most, usually about random subjects that didn't really fall into place with the current topic of conversation. Eren thinks that that's where he got his imagination from, but his mother argues that Grisha wasn't that much of a daydreamer until a trip they took to the beach, a year before Eren was even born. Grisha had fallen asleep one night and suddenly woken up with a mind too heavy for his body, talking about having a very long dream but not remembering any of it. 

(The thing about that trip that Carla never told him was that Grisha had woken up clutching a key to his chest, none of them remembering where it came from but too overjoyed about their little gateway to think about it too much.)

"Like a premonition?" Armin squinted in confusion.

"Yeah, and then he gave me this key," Eren pulled a string from under his sweater, a long brown key dangling from it. The string was made out of some sort of rope and felt a little rough against the skin of his neck. He took it out and put it on the table for his friends to see, itching his neck briefly before starting to gather his hair in a ponytail. 

"He said something about having a feeling that it was my time to take it," he chuckled dryly, "I don't know, but it freaked me out a little bit… then I got the message from you guys that I was running late and left the house with the key by accident." His arms dropped as his hair dangled in a messy ponytail, some strands falling out of place and framing his face. Mikasa was eyeing the key with little interest as Armin held it and turned it around, trying to find something more than just a plain key. 

"What do you guys think that means?" Eren finally seemed to take notice of the many beautiful treats spread out on the table. Mikasa had a piece of strawberry shortcake on her plate and Armin had a chocolate croissant on his, both accompanied by some type of sweet tea served in little white porcelain cups. At the sight of the food Eren suddenly forgot about his old man's antics, letting his friends eye the key for a little longer as he walked to the counter, only then realizing that Levi was not alone. 

"Yooo, Eren!" Hanji called animatedly, waving as their eyes landed on Eren's ponytail and they quickly got a hold of their own messy locks before squealing "twinsies!" 

Eren barked out a laugh, "And what're you doing here? Isn't it Erwin who's usually behind the counter?" 

"Well, I mean, yes, but he's got a cold and I couldn't just leave the shop to loverboy over there alone," they pointed towards Levi, "Otherwise we'd have people lining up to get a glimpse of his smile, and we don't have enough to serve that many people! Ain't that right, beauty?" 

"I'll use you as pastry filling, shitty glasses." Levi shot Hanji a dirty look, to which they responded with a loud laugh.

"Aww, I know I'm sweet but that's going a little overboard, dont'cha think?" Hanji laughed even louder at Levi's slightly widened eyes. He really couldn't win against them. He kept wiping the counter, muttering murder promises in their direction.

Eren knew the relationship between the two dated way back to childhood, but it still surprised him how Levi had managed to warm up to somebody that was his complete opposite. The trio met Hanji not too long after establishing a friendship with Levi (read: _going to the shop everyday and ordering hot chocolate despite knowing he only served teas, until one day Levi snapped and sent them home with red ears and a stomach full of chocolate_ ), when Hanji was working at the shop in a particularly busy day. They had introduced themselves with a handshake and a bow, offering to tell them embarrassing stories from when Levi was a teenager and obsessed with punk bands. That day had ended with many laughs ~~and threats from Levi~~ and a promise to visit soon, because apparently "i don't even know why i offered to help shorty when i have more than a hundred assignments piling up on my back", and "if i see one more 'due 11:59 PM' im gonna throw my arm in the blender".

Eren supposes this time she brushed off work just to piss Levi off at the shop.

"So, what's it gonna be today?" Hanji turned back to Eren, both their hands on the counter as they leaned forward to eye the sweets on display from his angle. "Something pretty to post on Insta?" 

"Ah," Eren sighed a dreamy sigh, hands clutched over his chest and eyes sparkling at the mention of his favorite social media. "You just know me so well."

Hanji hummed, "Wanna have what Mikasa's having? It's a new sweet on the menu, Levi's worked very hard on it!" 

Levi shivered at the mention of his name and Eren nodded, leaving Hanji to prepare his order and walking over to the older man, sitting in one of the stools at the counter. "Hey, Levi."

"What?"

"You never told me where you learned how to cook, did you now? When I met you the shop was still brand new, but you don't even have a sweet tooth or anything." 

Eren watched as Levi froze for just a millisecond, and if he wasn't so tired he'd think that maybe, just maybe he saw a blush tint the older man's cheeks. 

"Yeah, hm, it doesn't matter."

Was Eren's vision playing tricks on him? Was _Levi Ackerman_ actually blushing in front of his eyes? Now he had to know why!

"Hey Hanji! Where did Levi learn how to cook?" 

"Hah!" Hanji placed the plate of cake in front of Eren, laughing with their hands on their hips. "That's a pretty funny story, actually. You see, Levi had just come back from work in that internship with the biggest blush on his face and- ow! What the hell, shorty!"

Levi's eyes glistened with pure evil, shadowed by his bangs as he whispered "don't even try to tell him that stupid story, shitty glasses. And you," he pointed at Eren before the younger could protest "take your stupid photo and eat already."

Eren pouted but obliged, positioning his phone strategically in his hands and snapping about a hundred pictures of the cake before feeling satisfied. 

"Still at it, huh?" Levi's regular bitch face was back, not even a trace of blush in sight. 

"Of course, I could never stop it! You know they say Instagram is the window to the soul, right?"

"Pretty sure that's not how the saying goes," Armin interjected, placing the key on the counter and sitting beside Eren while Mikasa did the same on the other side. "Sorry Ren, but I've got no idea what this key's supposed to mean."

"What's that?" Hanji perked in, their eyes big and sparkly as they pointed at the key. Eren didn't share the same excitement, shrugging dismissively. 

"Just something my dad gave me. I don't know why, though," he looked up at the ceiling in thought, taking a big bite of cake. "Maybe… for my birthday? Maybe it's some sort of surprise? Maybe it opens something he's gonna give me? Is it a car?"

"Eren,"

" _Ohmygod_ is it the key to a car? No, scratch that, it's the key to a new house??"

"… Eren,"

"But why would he kick me out of his house, am I such a bother, you old man??" Eren scowled as if Grisha was standing right there in front of him, "honestly, nevermind, if you're gonna give me a house I'm not about to complain-"

"Eren!" Mikasa gripped his shoulders and shook, struggling to contain a laugh at the sight of his widened eyes, "I'm pretty sure it's not a house."

"Unless you're about to live in Mr. Bear's old cellar," Levi said, arms crossed as he stared at the frozen faces in front of him. Beside him Hanji smacked their teeth, a grimace on their face as they said dramatically:

"Yeah, guys, believe it or not but that was Levi's attempt at making a joke- shit! Keep that up and I'm gonna lose a toe, Lord Farquaard!" 

Everybody struggled to hold their laughs in as Levi's glare became 120% more deadly. "That's it, I'm killing you."

"No, but seriously," Hanji said after dodging many of Levi's attacks, "this is actually reminding me of something."

"Yeah? What is it?" Eren was a little more interested this time, eager to solve this mystery for once and all.

"When I was still in college,"

"Yeah that sure was many many years ago."

"Shut up shorty. Anyways, when I was in college we had to do this research on ancient societies, and one of my partners told me a legend about these people that used these very very shiny rocks to build military equipment."

Everybody watched Hanji expectantly, bodies leaning forward as they asked in unison "…..and…?"

Hanji huffed, "Do you not see this gigantic rock on the key?" They pointed at it, and for the first time since receiving the object Eren finally picked it up and eyed it carefully, catching a glimpse of something sparkling against the ceiling lights of the shop. 

"Oh, wow," he sighed after finally spotting a minuscule jewel encrusted in the length of the key; nothing but a little blue spot shining in the brown surface. It really was there. Sure it wasn't gigantic like Hanji described it, but it was definitely pretty. "So that was his subtle way of giving me a jewel?"

"It's probably just an accessory, Eren, don't overthink it." Mikasa said, breaking the spell that had settled in the air. Eren sighed but agreed, putting it back around his neck and deciding on changing the subject for good. His eyes reflected a mischievous glint as he spoke between bites of cake,

"Hey guys, you ever realized that Levi never told us where he learned how to cook?" 

Levi's cheeks flared, "Not this again!"

°°°°°°°°

Outside the shop, the sky cleared from clouds and a few sun rays beamed down on the tarmac. The trio had temporarily given up on prying on Levi's personal life, now discussing their schedule for a trip they had planned many months ago. Erwin, Levi, Hanji, Mike, the trio and some of their closest friends were all spending five days on the beach house owned by Sasha's parents, celebrating their time together before Jean, Eren's declared frenemy, had to travel overseas for the next few months because of work. Hanji and Armin insisted they formed teams and collected as many seashells as possible while Mikasa planned to spend the entire day playing volleyball. Eren warned he wasn't leaving the water unless it was a life or death situation and Levi silently wished for a tan.

"So, we'll see you guys later!" The trio waved their goodbyes to Hanji and Levi, exiting the shop and shivering as the cold air hit their skin. The sun settled in the horizon, a golden line adorning the edge of the sky with beautiful hues of yellow and orange. Somewhere in the blanket of colors of the sky the moon started making its appearance, getting the stars ready for the night. Eren and Mikasa walked to the girl's car while Armin walked to his own, exchanging their byes before Mikasa drove Eren to his house. 

He went straight to his room, throwing himself on the bed as exhaustion settled in the corner of his eyes and he fell into a deep, soundless sleep. 

**_Two weeks later…_**

"Aaah, can't believe we're finally here!" Connie jumped out of their rented van, stretching his arms as the rest of the group exited the car, nowhere near as gracefully as he did. Elbows hit ribs and stomachs as they struggled to leave the car at once, eager to breathe something other than leather car seats and potato chips ( _thanks, Sasha_ ).

They left the city in the morning and it was already night by the time they arrived at the beach. Far away from the shore, in a little hill that stretched up from the sand, was the house. It was surprisingly big, painted in white with a big porch that faced the moonlit waves of the ocean. The breeze was cool as they made their way inside the house in groups, some chatting excitedly (Sasha & Connie) while others (Eren & Jean) bickered on who could stay underwater for longer.

"What's that?" Jean asked as they walked through the house, pointing at the key around Eren's neck.

"Hm? Oh, just something my dad gave me. Don't look at it too much though, I don't wanna get it jinxed." 

"Fuck you, Eren."

They were all exhausted from the long trip, quickly coming to an agreement (Levi decided it and nobody dared to intervene) that the three bedrooms would be divided as it follows: Eren, Armin, Jean & Connie would be staying in the first room next to the bathroom; Mikasa, Sasha, Krista & Ymir would be staying in the second room, opposite to the bathroom and Mike, Hanji, Levi & Erwin were staying in the third room beside the girls'. Eren and Jean eyed each other before turning their heads with an audible "humph", breaking into laughter barely a second later. 

Eren and Jean shared one of the bunk beds with the latter on top after a serious and democratic rock, paper & scissors game. Connie shared the other one with Armin with the blond on the bottom, none of them escaping the typical jokes that come with bunk beds and an obnoxious _'eren, i've always been the top of this relationship'._ They didn't bother on changing clothes and it wasn't long before their heavy bodies drifted to sleep.

It was already morning by the time Eren woke up. Or at least he supposed it was, because there was no way the room could be so bright and no way anybody would dare wake him up before midday. He grumbled as a hand shook his shoulders, brows furrowing as he moved to the side, tasting curses at the tip of his tongue at whoever dared to wake him up so abruptly.

"Leave me alone," he drawled angrily, receiving a slap on the forehead as response.

What the fuck? Now he was mad.

Eren's eyes peeled open unwillingly, seeing white for a good five seconds before he started getting used to the light. 

"Don't fucking hit me, Jean." 

He wasn't really seeing anything, too tired to realize that the person kneeling in front of him wasn't Jean. He also didn't see a black blur backing away before hitting him straight in the guts, the pain making his eyes shoot open in surprise. 

"What the hell, man?!" Eren's eyes were on the bed, trying to make sense of- wait. Where was the bed? He could swear he had fallen asleep on the bunk bed last night, but there was nothing around him. Nothing, except for land that stretched so far in the horizon his eyes couldn't see where it ended. Nothing, except for groups of people on horseback a few meters away from him, their green capes floating aimlessly in the wind. Nothing, except for a pair of familiar grey eyes that looked at him like he was the stupidest person on earth.

"Finally wake up, brat?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to set the mood in this first chap and to make it easy to understand the depth of their relationships with the help of the flashbacks.
> 
> I've already got the next chapter written, so you should expect an update next week, I hope you liked it! You can find me on tumblr, @lapdancesqueen or on twt, @evildeb_ see you soon, and I'd love to know what you think!!


	2. Intro: The day I saw you for the first time (again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you're ready for another chapter! Enjoy!!!

Eren knows he's a daydreamer. It's a fact written at the back of his kindergarten notebook by teachers, little notes to his parents that encapsulate the message _'he's not paying attention'_ over and over again.

He's usually not really _here_ , preferring to indulge in a world of self reassurance where things happen according to what he wants, no matter how crazy his desire is or how impossible it is to attain in real life. In dreams Eren can make up a whole new story for his life that distracts him from the side effects that come when you start living in adulthood. He knows it's a way to protect himself from things he can't control, and he knows that people will often take him for aloof because really, _'you've been staring into space for the past five minutes or so'_ , but he doesn't really care.

He just can't help searching for _more_. You see, if Eren's imagination was water, he's sure his fingers would be in a constant state of pruney, what with just how much he's constantly soaking in it. 

And that's why he doesn't bat an eye at the things he's seeing right now, even if they're completely different from anything he's ever dreamt before. 

Levi is knelt in front of him, eyes heavy and dark as his brows mimic a motion of pure annoyance. Behind him, a few feet away, people on horseback surround the space like it's a crime scene, spines rigid like they're ready to strike at any moment. Eren sees a plethora of familiar faces: there's Petra on horseback staring at him like he's just broken inside her house and beaten up her family- wait. What?

It's only then that Eren realizes the sheer amount of panic plastered on the people's faces, as if he was some sort of wild animal that had broken away from the zoo. 

Beside Petra is Oluo, his usual shit eating grin brushed off of his face and replaced by a frightening scowl. It's like they're all terribly mad at him, and he wonders what kind of dream this was that made every person he loves look down on him like that. Even Erwin, giant goofball Erwin was looking at him differently. Not exactly with panic like the others, but with a glint of curiosity that made an uncomfortable chill run down Eren's spine. The only sense of normalcy he gets is from Hanji: their smile is as big and as bright as ever, hands clasped tightly against their chest in a pose that made Eren think it was taking everything in their power not to jump on him.

They all looked like they were waiting for him to say something. He thinks he can almost hear Levi's breathing beside him, a silent reminder to not say anything stupid if he doesn't want to get kicked again.

"Hmm... Hi?" 

"He speaks!!" Hanji squealed and Eren was offended, to say the least.

"I guess I do, yeah?" 

Silence crept in again and Eren was starting to get annoyed. What kind of weird dream was this? He decided to give it another five seconds to see if anybody would say anything, but they all seemed eager to remain faithful to whatever silence pact it was that they had. This was boring as hell. He'd like to go straight back home, thank you very much.

"Well, this has been _fun_ ," he started laying down again, not catching the puzzled looks that were sent his way, "But I'm gonna go back now, so... Bye, or whatever." 

"Here I go..." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and waited for the dream to dissipate. 

Except it didn't.

"I _said_ ," his eyes blinked open as if that'd help make the affirmation more effective, "here I go!" 

His palms started to sweat when again, nothing happened. 

"I said! Here! I! Go!!" 

In his fit of panic he didn't noticed that the people around watched him in amusement, clearly thinking something along the lines of, _'are you stupid? be honest.'_

Eren was in his fifth try when his hope started to falter, repeatedly banging his head against the ground until he was positive he could hear the brain cells there dying. He refused to open his eyes and nobody dared to interfere in whatever the hell it was that he was doing. Hanji silently motioned for Moblit to sketch the scene while the latter scolded them for even thinking about that right now. 

Over six hours had passed (it had been barely two minutes, really, but he had the right to exaggerate, okay?) when Eren finally decided to stop fussing, laying on the ground gracelessly and with a big bump growing on his forehead. He dared to blink a single eye open and there was Levi, still knelt and with eyes that said this was the stupidest thing he had ever seen. 

"This..." Eren pointed to the nothing, too tired to do anything else. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

"Nope." 

_Aw, fuck._

•••••••

Eren knows he should be scared. He _knows_ , because there's blades pointing towards him and there's cuffs around his wrists and scowls burning holes on his back. He knows he should be scared, fucking terrified even, because that's what's expected from someone if they suddenly wake up in another dimension where his friends don't know him and he's all alone. He knows he should be scared, but in the myriad of emotions that are blooming inside his chest as he looks outside the window of the carriage he's currently in, he can't help feeling anything but excitement.

Levi had forced him in the vehicle with a shove, instructing one of the soldiers to cuff him and throw away the key. 

The shock and mild amusement from before were replaced by rigid spines and hurried steps as the soldiers suddenly remembered they were in open ground, reducing the volume of their voices to whispers as they got the horses ready and it wasn't long before they left the deserted plain, wary of unwelcome visitors all around them. They knew they had played fools by letting that boy cry and hit his head on the ground when they should've just grabbed him and gotten away as soon as they saw him. 

Now, in some of their heads, many conspiracy theories started to form to try to explain why somebody would appear out in the open out of nowhere, completely unprotected and wearing clothes that could never be found in any commoner's wardrobe. Around the carriage Levi's squad protected the vehicle from all sides, throwing pointed looks at the new cadets to emphasize the message that _'i'll pull one of your eyes out if you tell about this to anyone'._

The senior soldiers didn't need that warning, knowing far too well that nothing should be discussed about the expeditions until the commander himself wrote a full report. Though that didn't stop them from thinking all kinds of things, because who was that boy and what the hell was he doing there all alone? 

"Probably sent by the nobles? The capital doesn't like us anyway, so wouldn't it make sense to send somebody here to delay us?" Petra whispered to the others surrounding the carriage, unable to wait to talk about it inside the walls. 

"That's impossible, Petra, he could never get this far without getting killed," Oluo replied with a frown, tongue poking out of his mouth in frustration.

Petra sneered in disgust, "As if you have any better explanation."

"That's not possible." Mike finally spoke up for the first time since they found the stranger, guarding the carriage from the front but moving his body to the side just enough so that Petra knew he was talking to her. "He didn't sweat or look like he's been walking at all. Besides, his smell... It's unlike anything I've ever smelt before." 

Inside the carriage, Eren fiddled with the chains that connected the cuffs together, lips worried between his teeth as he pointedly ignored the two pairs of eyes that watched his every move. Hanji and Erwin were sat opposite to him on the carriage, making sure he wouldn't try to escape while Levi was on horseback behind the vehicle to make sure whatever stunt Eren tried to pull would be unsuccessful. 

"You didn't have to cuff me, you know," He let out a little laugh, finally meeting his friend's (could he even call them friends?) eyes. "I have as much coordination as a dizzy roach."

Silence. 

After that, he decided to keep his mouth shut. 

It felt like hours passed inside the carriage and Eren started to wonder when they'd finally arrive at their destination. His eyes were focused outside of the window, watching a pair of horse's legs walk until its strong limbs shook violently against the ground. If it had been just a light tremor Eren wouldn't have thought anything of it, but it was more than that. 

It felt like the world was preparing to break beneath his feet; a thunder-like sound reverberating through the walls of the carriage as the vehicle shook madly from side to side, and Eren cursed under his breath as he heard the people on horseback scream commands hurriedly, a horse standing near the window and making it impossible for him to see the outside.

"Gunther! Erd! You take care of the ankles while Petra and I do the eyes!" 

Eren's eyes widened in disbelief, not being able to understand what made Oluo's usual irritating tone become so deep and commanding. He searched in his friends' faces for any sort of surprise, only to have the scrutinizing gaze mirrored back at him. Eren fumed, not understanding why nobody cared that the world suddenly decided to remake '2012' right before their eyes. The shaking worsened as the carriage moved forward, jumping high everytime they hit a rock on the way. Eren tried to brace himself on the vehicle, turning to his friends with wide eyes.

"What's up with this stupid carriage anyway?" He yelled over the sound of shaking, cuffed hands slipping from where he held the carriage walls in a useless attempt at stabilizing himself, "Couldn't you have taken a car or something?!" 

And that was the first time his friends showed any emotion other than eerie curiosity as Hanji's head tilted to the side, lips in a pout as they spoke, more to themselves than to anyone else, "car...?" 

The carriage tilted dangerously after a particular high bump, sending Eren's face to smash against the window with a loud thud. 

That's it. That was the last straw. 

It looked like earthquakes sudden thunder were a normal occurrence to those people, but he couldn't take it any longer. If nobody did anything, then he'd have to do it himself.

**( _"If I keep getting zeros like this, I'm gonna have to intervene."_ **

**_"And what're you gonna do?" Armin let out a laugh as he watched Eren draw the number one in front of the zero he'd gotten for his math test. His tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration, eyes shining as he turned to his best friend, a proud smile on his face before he spoke triumphantly:_ **

**_"Intervene."_ )**

Trying to ignore the incessant shaking of the carriage, Eren used both his hands to open the window, closing his eyes as a strong gush of wind blew inside the vehicle. His friends finally seemed to take notice of his intentions, Erwin's eyes widening as both him and Hanji tried to stop him from moving, but Eren was faster. 

Determined on finding the culprit to the rambling Eren put his head out of the window, catching a glimpse of legs running behind the carriage. Huge, monstrous legs that flexed and stretched as they ran towards the horsemen, but before Eren could look up his head was pulled away from the window, and it was only then that he realized he wasn't breathing. 

"What the fuck was that?! What was that thing?!" He watched as Hanji and Erwin exchanged worried glances, seemingly more worried that he _saw_ those gigantic legs than by the fact that they were chasing the carriage desperately. Eren gave them a total of five seconds to answer, which were spent in an uncomfortable silence that somehow deafened the sound of steps behind them. He muttered an exasperated 'fuck it', kicking the carriage door open. 

He rolled out on the ground, hissing as his skin was cut and scratched from every angle. Eren tried to look at the legs again when suddenly his head hit a rock, sending him to lie immobile on the ground. 

He tried to make sense of the noises around him, but they faded and melted together as dark spots began tainting the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, he was wrapped in a vice-like grip before being lifted from the ground. He tried to pry his eyes open, tried to breathe, but it was all in vain. Soon the hold on his torso became unbearable, knocking the air out of his lungs as he let himself fall limp in the hold, too tired to fight as he was lifted higher and higher off the ground. 

The next time Eren wakes up, he's got a throbbing headache and can barely move his legs. He can hear the faint sound of voices in the background; hushed whispers that he knew weren't meant for his ears, and he makes the decision of keeping his eyes closed as he tries to decipher what the voices were saying.

"...keep him locked in the dungeon until we find out what the hell this brat wants." 

A sigh.

"Petra thinks he's sent from the capital. I knew those bastards were low, but I didn't think they'd go as far as to send someone to get us all killed."

"Though he doesn't really fit the spy type, does he?" 

Eren fought the urge to twitch his brows in annoyance. 

"Yeah, he's stupid as fuck if the whole head banging thing was any indication."

"I hate to agree but..." This was the first time Eren heard Erwin- well, _this_ Erwin- speak since he got there, "he does seem to be on the stupidier side-"

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Eren forced his eyes open, cheeks flushing in anger. The room bathed his eyes with sunlight, making him wince as the pain in his head worsened. He tried to sit, grunting when his sides burned. In the end he decided to stay lying on the bed, not understanding why his body hurt so much.

"So you were eavesdropping, huh, you little shit?" Levi's scowl deepened as he watched Eren from beside the bed. 

"It's not really eavesdropping if you're saying it all to my face," Eren laughed, immediately regretting it as he felt a piercing pain in his chest. "What happened to me?"

"You don't remember?" Hanji's eyes widened, a curious glint reflected in their glasses. 

Suddenly, memories rushed through Eren's head like a tide breaking against shore.

A gigantic pair of legs running desperately towards the carriage, each step creating a thunderous sound that made him think the ground would break beneath his feet. He also remembered being lifted off the ground and squeezed like a lemon. The memories from before made his blood run cold, panic rising in his chest as he searched in his friends' eyes for any sort of similar uneasiness.

But all he found was pity; compassion swimming in their eyes as they watched him like he was a scared little puppy. Levi's scowl had softened a bit, his usual wrinkled brows the only emotion evident in his face. Hanji's lips were in a little pout, their fingers moving constantly as they watched him. Eren's eyes traveled to Erwin, hoping to find any sort of reassurance that this was nothing more than a deep hallucination, and that he'd wake up soon. And while he wasn't expecting to meet the brightest of eyes, he was still taken aback by the dullness he found there. That stare was nothing like the Erwin he knew for years 

_It was an uneventful day at the tea shop, with only a few customers hanging around here and there. Eren was sat on one of the stools at the counter, concentration in his eyes as he organized Levi's tea in a wooden tea box by the color of the wrappings. It wasn't a job he'd usually strive for, but it was his fifteenth birthday and Levi decided to give him the greatest gift of all:_

"You want me to organize your teas for you?"

_"Don't sneer at me like this isn't the best birthday gift you've ever received," Levi responded to Eren's scowl with his own, and unfortunately to the boy there was nothing in this world that could beat that pair of grey eyes. "Aren't your friends coming anyways?"_

_"Mikasa's at her volley game and Armin's got to go with his grandpa to the hospital."_

_"Hm..."_

_The disappointment was evident in the boy's tone, even more so when he tried to shrug and play it cool. Levi sighed, walking to the back of the counter. He was about to say something again when the shop's door was pushed open, the little bell signaling the arrival of a new customer. Eren wasn't interested in whoever it was, finding an odd sense of comfort as he separated the teas in little piles all over the counter. Some green, others black, some others yellow._

_He was so fixated in the task he didn't even notice when somebody slipped behind the counter, nor did he notice the huge cake and candles that were quickly hidden somewhere in the kitchen with hushed whispers of **'you're late, Smith'** , and **'sorry the traffic was a bitch on the way here.'** He also missed the kisses exchanged in the kitchen, with the stove digging at the small of Levi's back as Erwin kissed sweet apologies on his lips and neck and anywhere he could that wouldn't ignite an immediate fire and distract them from their goall._

It was only when Erwin sat on a stool beside Eren that he took notice of the older man, eyes lighting up in delighted surprise. "I didn't know you were coming today."

_"I finally managed a break from work, so I decided to help Levi out at the counter since back pain is all he talks about these days."_

Both of them giggled like little boys, instantly freezing at the sight of Levi's glare. "You talk a lot of shit for somebody that couldn't stop crying because he found two hairs on the pillow this morning."

_Erwin gasped, not believing Levi could be so low "We're not talking about me or my premature hair loss, thank you very much."_

_"Not so premature for somebody nearing his eighties, Smith," a small smirk graced Levi's lips, and Eren felt the sadness return as the thought of being alone for his birthday sunk deeper in his chest._

_"Are you okay,Eren?"_ _He didn't realize he had spaced out until Erwin spoke again, breaking the grey cloud that had settled in the air._

_"Yeah, just... Yeah, 'M fine."_

_Erwin just hummed, elbows on the counter and hands on his chin before he gasped dramatically "Oh! It's your birthday today, isn't it??"_

_Neither of them saw it when Levi rolled his as he served a customer, but later on he'd surely nag his husband on how bad his theatrics were._

_**("I majored in business, don't blame me for not being the next Leonardo."**_

_**"Which one, Smith?"** _

_**"DaVinci? I don't know, hollywood's so weird.")** _

_"It is, but everybody's kinda busy."_

_"Ah, I get it, I've been there before."_

_Eren perked up a little at that, "you have?"_

_"Yes, a lot of times when I was young. My father didn't have much time since he was always busy with work, and I was kinda of an isolated kid."_

_Eren felt bad for feeling lonely when there were other people like Erwin that had to spend countless birthdays alone. The older seemed to sense that, panicking because **he wasn't supposed to make Eren feel bad.**_

_"But even if he wasn't with me he'd always leave a note at the dinner table telling me exactly when he'd get back. It was always too late than I could handle at that age, but I felt comfort knowing that even if he wasn't present, he was still thinking about me. So I think that Armin, Mikasa and even Levi are thinking about you constantly right now. He even let you touch his precious tea box. Eren, that's something!"_

_"What are you two snakes giggling so much about?" A few minutes later Levi walked to the counter, watching warily as Erwin and Eren tried not to burst out laughing._

_Later that day Eren got a surprise birthday party with all his friends, feeling thankful that he could call Erwin one of them._

"Erwin..." He called slowly, not missing the way the blond's body froze for a second, eyes widening as if he'd just seen the most surprising thing.

"So I'm guessing you know all of our names?"

"Of course I know your names, we're friends," Eren scoffed like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but sighed when all the received were confused eyes. "My names Eren Jaeger by the way, even though you're supposed to know that already." 

"Eren, there are a lot of things right now that we don't understand," Hanji started, the seriousness in their tone only betrayed by the child-like glitter in their eyes. "Where are you from? How did you get outside the walls? You know that's a crime, don't you? We could report you and you'd go to jail."

"What? What do you mean walls, crime? And I'm too pretty to go to jail." Eren's head spun, his thoughts moving in a spiral as he tried to make sense of things. "We were on a trip, I even posted it on Instagram..." He let out a gasp, back straightening as he tapped his hoodie's pockets, mood quickly deflating as he didn't find anything in them. 

"You looking for this?" Levi pulled something from his back pocket, raising it and Eren's heart raced when he made eye contact with the object. 

His phone.

He made a move to grab it, but Levi quickly slapped his hand away with a scowl. "You think we'd just let you here without checking your pockets? You offend me," Levi held the phone with nothing but his index and thumb like the device was some sort of germ bomb, "Now you're gonna calm your ass down and explain what the fuck is this thing."

"What? It's a phone."

No noises of acknowledgement were made. Eren's pulse quickened again, but for an entire new reason.

_Waking up in a different dimension, ok._

_Waking up in a different dimension with no access to internet? You gotta be kidding me._

"So I'm guessing you don't know what internet is either."

Nobody said a thing, which was more than enough of an answer. Eren sat with his back against the wall slowly, taking a deep breath before saying goodbye to his remaining brain cells. 

_I'm getting out of here even if it's the last thing I do._

He bent over so that his stomach hovered above his knees before swiftly moving back, his head hitting against the wall with a thud. If he tried hard enough he was sure he could hear cracking, but he wasn't sure whether it came from his skull or from his heart breaking at the realization that not only had he woken up in a different dimension... It somehow had to be the fucking middle ages. 

Needless to say, Eren woke up two hours later with the worst headache in his life and a threat that if he insisted on hitting his head on things, next time he'd have it rolling down the streets. 

That night he was left to sleep in the same room he woke up in, metal cuffs in his wrists and ankles. He hated their smell and how much they weighed, but was thankful for the chance to sleep until his body didn't hurt anymore. 

There, lying on the bed and covered with a flimsy blanket, Eren fell into a deep sleep, unaware of the fact that his father's necklace was still hanging around his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it, please leave a comment as it really motivates me to write! You can find me on tumblr: @lapdancesqueen


	3. Intro pt 2: The day you saw me for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favourite chapter so far, i hope you like it!!

The next day Eren didn't feel pain like he did the night before, but his mind was still trapped in a haze, a big part of him hoping to wake up in the comfortable bed he went to sleep in a day ago, with the smell of sun and sea to keep company. Instead, the sheets scratched his legs and the bed was so thin he was sure he could feel the wood planks beneath if he tried hard enough. The smell was new, too. Not salty and fresh like the ocean, and he decided to stay in bed until he melted into the furniture or until he went back home, whichever came on first. 

His plans were interrupted by a gush of wind coming from the door opening, making dust swirl in the air and itch his nose. Eren hoped against hope that whoever was walking in the room would just leave him alone forever. 

_Go away, go away, go away, go awa-_

"I know you're awake."

_Goddamnit._

He dared to blink one eye open, sight landing on two pairs of legs standing beside the bed. They were clad with white pants and brown straps that encircled their thighs up to their torso. Eren assumed it was some sort of uniform, which brought even more uneasiness to his gut as he realized he knew absolutely nothing about where he was and the people there. 

By the voice he knew one of the people was Levi, but had to look up to see that the other pair of legs belonged to Oluo. He wore a tight expression on his face, one that wasn't inviting and with a posture so rigid it practically screamed 'try to act up, I dare you'. 

The scene reminded Eren of a documentary he watched in school once, about what to do if they were to encounter a bear in their camping trip. It said not to look the bear in the eyes nor to yell at it; you must keep your head down and walk away slowly. In this case Oluo was the bear, and though Eren knew there was no way he could just walk away, he still made sure not to look the man in the eyes and possibly incite his killing instincts. 

The room was silent for a total of three ~~years~~ seconds, and Levi let out a tired sigh before his glare told Eren that it was best for him to stand up before he was forced to. In an instant he was up, both him and Oluo towering the elder in the room but somehow feeling much smaller. Soon Levi spoke up, expression exasperated as if the mere act of standing there was too much for him. 

"You know his name, don't you?" Levi's head tilted towards Oluo, brows furrowing inexplicably deeper as he took in what Eren was wearing. How the hell did he get such bright clothing?

"Y-yeah, that's Oluo." 

The said man twitched, blood draining from his face as he went as pale as paper. He leaned a little towards Levi, hoping the older couldn't hear him shitting his pants internally. "Is he some type of witch, Captain?" 

Levi huffed, replying in a whisper of his own: "I doubt so, witches are supposed to be smart." 

Both men didn't notice (or didn't care about) the offended looks Eren sent their way. "This bastard kept hitting his head on the wall like some sort of dizzy roach. If anything, the only spell he can cast is the spell of stupidity-"

"Aham! I can hear you both very clearly, alright?"

 _So not only is he a witch but he can also hear our thoughts?!_ Oluo swallowed, trying to keep his posture high and determined not to be frightened by this witch's ways. Levi merely huffed, annoyed by the whole thing already.

"Oluo's gonna help you get dressed, then you're going straight to Erwin's office. Don't be late." 

Eren watched the door close behind Levi, leaving him alone to deal with the scowl in Oluo's face. They stood like that for what felt like hours, Eren shifting on his feet while the older scrutinized his clothes with an increasingly astonished gaze. 

It was only then that Eren stopped to analyze his own clothing; he looked down to his bare feet, up to his white sleeping shorts till he reached his black shirt, adorned by many colorful drawings of some band he didn't know about. He then strained his eyesight a little, spotting a very familiar necklace hanging around his neck, its length buried under the shirt. Eren's mouth instantly shaped an 'o', and he eagerly pulled the string, only to find out that the key was no longer there.

_Damn you, Levi._

He didn't have much time to sink in his sorrow, though, because soon enough Oluo was walking towards one of the only furnitures in the room; a small wooden dresser, to which he pulled open a drawer and took from it a change of clothing, placing it on the bed before turning to Eren, walking to him and swiftly taking off his cuffs. 

They just stood there, and Eren didn't know what to do.

"What're you doing, take off your clothes already!"

Eren would like to say that getting dressed was smooth sailing. He'd _like_ to say so, but if he did he'd be undoubtedly lying through his teeth. The shirt was fine. It was a simple greenish shirt with two buttons and a string in the collar. He topped it off with a brown jacket; its breast pocket adorned with a drawing of two overlapping wings, one green and the other silver. He thought about asking what they meant, but Oluo's scowl deeped whenever their eyes met, so he decided to let it be for the time being.

Now the pants, that's when the problem started. You see, if white pants were the only thing he had to wear at the bottom, he'd be totally fine, even if they were just a little too tight. But no, the universe was determined to make him suffer as much as possible, and he couldn't stop the question from spilling out of his mouth when he saw two pairs of leather belts thrown on the bed beside his sleeping clothes. 

"What're those?" He pointed at the belts and Oluo huffed, rolling his eyes. 

"Those are harnesses for the 3DMT, what else would they be? Now watch the way I put it 'cause I'm not teaching you again later."

Eren nodded, grabbing the belts from the bed and trying to copy Oluo's movements. 

The older took one of the belts and fastened it around his thigh. Eren did the same, wincing at the tightness before doing the same with the other leg. The process itself wasn't tricky, but the hold of the belts in Eren's legs made him walk like his legs were made out of toothpicks, afraid he'd snap one of the belts if he bent his knees too much. He looked at Oluo and the older didn't seem phased in the slightest, walking like it was second nature. Eren begged to differ, grunting loudly as he sat on the bed and bent to put on the boots. 

"Doesn't it hurt for you?" He asked when Oluo started cuffing him again, watching the man huff in that obnoxious way he did whenever he tried to make himself look superior.

"Not in the slightest. I'm a soldier anyway, I gain nothing from crying because of pain." 

_Soldier?_

Before Eren could question further, the door was pushed open. 

"Jesus, woman, I could've been naked!" 

Petra walked in the room, sneering in disgust. "Well I'm glad you weren't, there's only so many terrifying things I can see before it's too much."

Oluo eyed her up and down, throwing a humph in the air before speaking, "You're not going to catch my attention by insulting me, Petra." He motioned for Eren to follow him out of the door, "You still got a long way if you want so badly to become my wif-gah!" 

Oluo bit his own tongue as they walked, causing a satisfied sigh to leave Petra's lips, "See, that's what happens when you're a little shit." 

She then turned back to stare at Eren, who walked a little far from them. She watched with skeptical eyes as the strange man eyed the windows on the wall at their side. There were many, lightning up the corridor with the mid morning sun as they made their way to the Commander's office. She tried seeing evil in his eyes; any indication that he was a threat and that he should be restrained more harshly, but all she found was child-like glee. His eyes reflected the light of the windows and his mouth was open in an amused _'waaa'_ , fingers picking at his nails as he watched everything like it was the first time. Petra felt something strange twirl inside her chest, but before she could find out what it was they had arrived at the front of the Commander's office. 

Eren stiffened in front of the door, watching with wary eyes as Oluo gave three quick knocks before hearing a muffled "come in". 

Oluo pushed the door open, revealing two pairs of curious eyes and another pair, much less curious and much more annoyed. 

The room was a regular, medium sized office with a wooden table in the middle. Behind it there was a chair in which Erwin was sat, his elbows on the furniture, pointer fingers slowly tapping at his chin. Behind him there was a window, larger than the ones in the corridors and that granted a nice view of the clouds moving in the sky. Standing beside him was Hanji, for once sporting a serious expression that was only betrayed by the impatient tapping of their fingers on the table. Levi stood in front of the table, his back supported by the furniture as he leaned himself on it, arms crossed in an act of pure distaste. Differently from Erwin and Hanji, there was nothing in Levi's body that indicated curiosity, impatience being the only feeling stuck in his face like gum under shoes. 

Eren stiffened at the sight, but quickly relaxed his shoulders because, well, it didn't matter how different these people were, he still knew them, right? He had already dealt with his friends' mannerisms many times before, there was no reason for him to feel scared over this. So he walked, as confidently as he could with the tightness of the belts around his thighs, and settled in front of the desk with as much dignity as he could muster. He heard the door close, the retreating footsteps of Oluo and Petra indicating that he was all alone with the trio.

The room was deafeningly silent, saved by the occasional whistles of the wind against the window. The three pairs of eyes never left his face, and, against his better judgement, Eren felt something warm bubble in his throat before a single, lone giggle left his lips.

"Oi, what the fuck are you laughing at?" Levi snapped, ready to teach him a lesson he did _not_ want to learn. 

Eren tried to stifle his giggles, lips pursing into a line as his cheeks puffed, "S-Sorry, I laugh when I'm nervous." 

That was all it took for Hanji's serious façade to break, and they left their own loud giggle. Levi scowled at them, and it was all it took for them to regain their posture. 

"So, Eren," Erwin called, catching Eren's attention, "I take it you know why I called you here?" 

"Uh…to interrogate me?" 

Hanji gasped and a flash of light ran through Erwin's eyes. 

"That's correct."

Eren felt a little weirded out by the entire thing, thinking that maybe his friends got him all wrong. "But don't get me wrong, it's not like I have any super powers or anything," he laughed, shaking his head. In the corner of his eye he could see Hanji's shoulders slumping, obviously disappointed that he didn't possess any super powers. Their disappointment was short lived, though, because soon Erwin wss motioning for Eren to sit down and he did so reluctantly, lowering himself on the chair opposite to the desk slowly because the belts were still very much tight, making him hyper aware of his every move. 

Soon he settled on the chair, trying to keep his focus on the man before him instead of letting his mind drift away like it usually did when he was comfortable with his friends. You see, Eren knew this was an uncommon situation. And he also knew that his excited feelings were probably inappropriate given the situation, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of tranquility that he got whenever he was with his friends. 

And he didn't see it, too trapped in his own haze of awe, that in front of him Erwin tensed slightly, still unsure on how to approach the whole thing. 

( _"I sent Oluo to dress him with the uniform. They should be here soon." Levi said as he walked in the office, grey eyes narrowing into slits as they fell on the mess of papers scattered across Erwin's desk. The blond man responded with a stiff nod, eyes never leaving the documents on the desk. Levi sighed, walking over to him._

_"You can't let that brat see your desk when it's this filthy," he said sternly, snatching one of the papers from Erwin's hold before starting to gather them all into a neat pile. "He's gonna look down on us." Erwin sighed, massaging his temples to ease the anxieties that simmered inside his head._

_"My, you're right, I wouldn't want him thinking I'm messy." He said with a small smile, watching the way Levi scowled._

_"You're awfully playful today, eyebrows."_

_Erwin sighed again in agreement, raising his arms and giving them a good stretch, trying to ease the knots in his shoulders. "I don't know what to do about him, that's all."_

_Levi stayed silent as he finished organizing, his final product being two piles of documents neatly placed on the desk. He knew whatever Erwin decided to do in the end would be for the best, though he'd prefer to pluck the hairs in his head one by one before ever saying that aloud. So instead he settled for something easier, simpler, watching in mild amusement as Erwin stretched his arms up._

_"I still think he's just some shitty charlatan." Though even Levi knew it couldn't be only that much, because the strange black block he found in the boy's pockets was certainly something he had never seen, not even with the richest of nobles. Erwin breathed out a laugh, which turned into a grunt when his neck cracked as he stretched it. Levi huffed, fed up with the whole thing already._

_"Goddamnit, just let me do it for you if you don't wanna break your neck."_

_He walked to Erwin, slapping the man's hands away from where they sat on his shoulders before replacing it with his own, his hands small but strong enough to massage the stiff muscles there. "Don't slack off on exercise just because you got paperwork to do, Erwin. Soon you're gonna get old and wrinkly like a raisin in the sun."_

_Levi's lips quirked up when the older's shoulders shook with laughter, glad that the tension from before was washed away, even if only briefly._

_"That's just mean. Not everybody's lucky to have a young face like yours, Levi." The words slipped out like water, and though Levi's hands didn't stop, it was almost palpable the way his spine stiffened at the comment. Erwin looked back, ignoring the strain in his neck in favor of the amusing realization that Levi's face was levelled with his now that he was sitting._

_Their eyes met but Levi's fingers kept steady, squeezing a little tighter and Erwin didn't know if he could believe his eyes when he saw a faint pink coloring the tips of Levi's ears. The grey eyes were as indifferent as ever, but his small lips were pursed into a thin line and, if Erwin wasn't so lost in that ocean of steel grey, he would've realized that Levi wasn't breathing. They stayed like that for what could be hours, but still didn't feel like long enough when the door was suddenly knocked on, causing Levi to jump before he retreated his hands fastly, walking to the front of the desk with his back turned to Erwin, oblivious to the fact that his ears were still very much pink._

_Erwin straightened his posture quickly, barely letting out a "come in" and soon Hanji was barging inside the room._ ) 

"Firstly, Eren, I need to know how you got outside the walls." 

Eren's head tilted in query, suddenly remembering what Hanji said about him getting jailed for going outside the walls. The problem is, Eren had no idea what walls they were talking about. 

"I don't know what walls you're talking about." 

Levi scoffed, regarding him with a distasteful look. "If you break the act now I can promise you'll be set free with nothing but a beating." 

Eren scowled, terrified, "I'm telling you, I don't know what walls are these you guys keep talking about. Also," his eyes suddenly widened, a gasp leaving his lips "I saw someone chasing the carriage. But I probably imagined that, 'cause there's no way those were actual legs right?" He scoffed, searching for the same amusement in his friends' eyes. "…right?"

"Listen, Eren-" Erwin started but was swiftly cut off by Hanji.

"What's your name?"

"I told you my name, it's Ere-"

"And where are you from?" 

Eren frowned, not understanding the meaning of this. Despite his frustrations, though, he decided to answer all of Hanji's questions quickly, eager to gain their trust and find a way back home. 

"Germany."

Silence settled in the room, the trio exchanging confused glances. Hanji cleared their throat, continuing. "In what year were you born?" 

"1998." 

This time they didn't stare at each other, but Eren could see how their backs stiffened at the answer. Levi uncrossed his arms, pulling something from his back pocket and holding it in the air. "And what the fuck is this?"

"My phone!" Eren gasped, making a move to grab it but receiving a hard slap on the hand from Levi.

"You seem to be very fucking keen on this shit, huh?" 

Eren could feel the tension building up in the air, could feel Levi's gaze burning holes in his skull and the way his body started to prepare for attack. Suddenly, all the comfort he felt before was washed away, replaced by the cold realization that maybe, just maybe, these people weren't really his friends. 

"What's this, some sort of fucking bomb?"

"What? N-"

"Did they send you here to blow our fucking brains out when we were asleep, huh? Was that your plan?"

"St-"

"I bet you're having a real fucking blast laughing at our faces, huh, you shitty bastard? I'm gonna show you a fucki-"

"Just shut your mouth and let me speak!!"

_Oh no._

Eren had felt it, the glow of anger beginning to burn in his chest the moment Levi slapped his hands away. That type of heavy, clouding anger that burnt incessantly in his younger days when all he knew was how to cause trouble. An anger that slowly subdued when he found Mikasa, Armin, and then Levi, Erwin, Hanji. His friends helped him manage his almost clouding instinct of swinging his fists whenever he disliked something, so to say that it felt weird to direct that anger to the one that helped him ease it was an understatement, to say the least. 

He knew he shouldn't yell, especially when standing in front of him was the one that constantly helped him in his moments of fury. That's probably why he didn't see the fist flying in the air, only being aware of what was happening when a strong punch was thrown straight on his jaw. 

Eren's head snapped to the side, the momentum causing him to lose balance and throw himself back, falling with the chair. Levi stood with a foot on his chest, face shadowed by his bangs and the only thing visible on his face being the red spark of fury burning in his eyes. Eren knew the man was giving him seconds to try and change his fate, seconds to say something useful if he didn't want his head smashed on the floor. 

He tried to breathe but the weight on his chest was unmoving, leaving him gasping for air on the ground. They saw him as a threat, though he was anything but. Eren still didn't understand why they were so amazed by something as simple as a phone, or why their eyes widened like saucers at the mention of his birthplace, but it didn't matter right now. If they wanted answers he'd give it to them, no matter how long it took. 

He watched as Levi raised the foot from his chest slowly, carefully, getting ready to stomp on him again if he didn't say anything, and though Eren might not know anything about this situation, he sure as hell knows he's tired of feeling pain. 

"It's a phone!"

"You've already said that, bastar-"

"No, but- yeah, and it's not a bomb! I know you guys don't trust me, but look, you're not the only one that's confused." 

Levi's head tilted to the side, his foot sliding off of Eren's chest though his stare kept the younger glued to the ground. 

"Listen, I don't know what happened either. In one day we were all going on a trip together and in the other I was here, and nobody recognizes me. I didn't come to disturb, I swear, but beating me up is not gonna solve anything. I didn't come here to blow anything up, and that," he pointed to the device still in Levi's grip, "That's harmless, I promise. But you have to put your trust in me. You don't know me, and..." He stopped, catching his breath "And I hate this so much, but I don't know you too." 

The room went silent. Hot tears were prickling down Eren's cheeks but he doesn't remember when they got there, or when he stopped breathing. All he knows is that Levi's murderous gaze is gone, and he's helping him get on his feet. 

"Very well, Eren," Erwin started, elbows on the table. 

"Let's start from the beginning."

**_Not far from there, inside the walls…_**

"…asa!" 

"…kasa!"

_Huh?_

"Mikasa! I've been looking for you everywhere." Armin stopped in front of the girl, hands on his knees as he drew deep breaths in. Mikasa watched him in mild amusement as her mind slowly came back to reality, forgetting about the sudden burst of warmth that had spread across her chest not too long ago.

She was standing in the middle of the tall grass of an open field, only a few feet away from where the forest started. Her eyes had been fixed on a rather common scenario: a fly got stuck in the middle of a spider's web, struggling to break free from the trap. She watched as the fly tried to break free from the web, momentarily forgetting about the weight of the firewood in her arms, or the growing ache in her back.

Some of the recruits from the survey corps had been sent to collect firewood for the Legion's headquarters, a boring but necessary job that was usually tasked to those that were still new in the regiment, but senior recruits were also helping today. Mikasa hadn't complained, she never did, doing her duty with the speed and agility that were natural to her, much different from the whispered whines from her teammates. The sun was stretching in the sky with a yolky light when she strayed from the group, just a little, in search of more wood, when something kindled in her chest and spread a warmth that was so familiar, it almost knocked the air out of her lungs. 

She looked around the field, trying to see if somebody else was there with her, if _he_ was there with her, even though she knew it was impossible. After that she just stood there for a while, head down and eyes glued on the fly in the spider's web, trying to remember how long it had been since she last saw him. Perhaps that was why she didn't hear it when Armin called her, too caught up in the horrifying realization that it had already been many years.

"What is it, Armin?" Her voice was soft as she walked up to him, making a mental note to train his stamina later. He had to build it; they were soldiers, after all. 

"It's already time to get back, they're probably cooking lunch already." 

She nodded, following him to where the horses and the other soldiers were, not bothering to look back and find out if the fly got to escape or not. She denied Armin's help on carrying the firewood, keeping her eyes trained forward into the horizon, skin warming as the sun stretched up to welcome the start of noon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on tumblr: @lapdancesqueen. I hope you liked it and could catch some references!


	4. Memories: Why I'm Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Another chapter !!

"Very well, Eren. Let's start from the beginning."

"O...okay." Eren breathed in slowly, deeply, sitting down on the chair again, thankful that Levi's scowl had subdued and that they all seemed more eager to talk with their mouths as opposed to their fists. 

"To start off, tell us how you got here." There wasn't really a smile on Erwin's face, but there was a little warmth pooling in his eyes that comforted Eren, even if just a little, and made it easier for him to talk. 

"I'm guessing that because you guys were so surprised when I said Germany... That you don't even know what it is, right?" 

Erwin shook his head, and Eren drew a sharp breath in because fuck, he really was far away from home. 

"Germany... Is a country. You know what a country is, right?" 

"Yes, yes, that we do." Hanji replied eagerly, remembering one of the forbidden books they read once about the world before the walls.

"Alright. So... Germany is a country, in Europe, that's where I was born, in 1998. What..." His leg started to bounce and he put his hand on it, uselessly attempting to stop it. "What year... Are you guys in?" 

"850." 

Eren let out a gasp, nodding frantically as if that'd help him digest the information better. His stomach lurched, and it took him a minute to regain his breath enough to speak again.

"In my... World, we're in 2020." 

Hanji let out a series of mutters, and the room was silent again for what felt like a century before Levi broke it, tone sharp but low:

"Tell us how you got here, Eren." 

"I was in a trip with you guys. We went to the beach, and then I went to bed, and then I was here. I didn't really... _Come_ here per se, I just woke up one day and that was it. I've met you, in my world. I mean, I don't know if it's _you_ , but it looks like- wait. If there's a you from there here, does it mean there's a me from here? Do I have a clone here too?!"

Eren's breath suddenly stopped in his throat, a knot too tight for him to breathe through, and Levi had to give him a few pats on the back to bring him out of his panic. 

"You said a phone is harmless," Hanji started, changing the subject in favor of their own questions, "What does it do, exactly?" 

"It... It's a thing you use to call people, and you can also search things on it. You can do almost anything, really, like... Listen to music, or find a route to get where you wanna be." 

They all seemed utterly astonished and skeptical, unbelieving that something so small could do so much. Levi still had it in his hands, and Eren hesitated greatly before asking, not wanting to repeat the chaos from earlier: 

"Can I show you?" 

Levi scowled at him, clearly taken aback. He eyed Erwin for confirmation, hesitantly giving Eren the device when the blond nodded a yes. 

"Aw, it's shattered," Eren's fingers ran through the cracks on the screen, "You see this button on the side?" They all nodded. "If you press here, it should turn on." Eren pressed, but nothing happened. He tried again, and again, sweat rolling down from his nape to his back, trying to not let his fingers shake even when the device didn't light up on his fifth try.

"Well, seems like your little toy is fucked up," Levi commented dryly, and Eren's heart shattered at the realization that not even his phone could help him right now. 

"It probably broke when I fell from the carriage. Also maybe because of the differences in our dimensions, though it'd be much easier if the thing that connects your dimension to mine was the phone. Much cooler, too."

"Oi, what the hell are you talking about?" Levi eyed him like he'd just said a bunch of nonsense, and Eren decided that maybe it was best if he kept his science fiction knowledge to himself; the less weirded out they were, the better. 

"There are many things from your world that we're yet to understand, Eren. As for your... _Clone_ , I'll make sure to check that later." Erwin kept his tone steady, collected, not a strand of hair out of place and not a drop of sweat that wasn't perfectly calculated. Eren wondered if this is what Erwin looked like at work, when formalities and strong postures were necessary. 

"Though, like I said, you're not the only one that's confused," he suddenly recalled the thunder, the legs, the shaking carriage, and tried to keep his breathing even as he eyed Erwin with furrowed brows, a façade of determination painted across his face. 

"I've told you about me and about what I know," he inhaled, "now it's time you do the same."

For the first time that day they all seemed taken aback, eyeing each other warily and Eren could feel their unwillingness in speaking about the subject. 

"Please don't hide things from me."

The silence stretched in the room like a blanket, heating up the worries inside Eren's chest and before he knew he was taking off his jacket, running a hand through his hair only to find the edges already damp. He kept his eyes on his lap, unblinking, bracing himself for the worst. It felt like they weren't ever going to speak again, and for a moment he wondered if they had somehow frozen in place-

"Our world exists inside walls." 

Eren's head snapped up, but he didn't dare to speak. He watched as Erwin picked up a quill and began to draw circles on a paper.

"There are three walls: Maria, Rose and Sina. There are also four districts in each wall, and they are guarded by the Garrison, which is a military branch dedicated to protecting our walls from the outside world. The king Fritz lives inside Wall Sina, which is the most secure of all three," Erwin stopped for a moment, eyeing Eren to see if he was paying attention. All he found was a boy with his mouth agape, eyes wide and barely breathing. Then, he continued:

"We have three military branches dedicated to protect and serve the people inside the walls. There's the military police, with its base in the Sina wall. Then there's the Garrison, which protects the walls. Lastly, there's us. We're the Survey Corps, and our mission is to go outside and explore, and find a way to free humanity."

Eren's head spun. He could feel the acid swimming from his stomach up to his throat, could feel his heart hammering on his back. Suddenly the pants were too tight, the shirt was too thick, and all he wanted was to break free from there, to go back home, back to the ocean, back to his friends. Against all better judgement he spoke, lowly, voice scratching his dry throat,

"Free humanity from… what?" 

"Titans."

"What?" 

"The legs you saw, Eren," Erwin took a deep breath, "those were titan's legs." 

"But what... How...? What-what do they do? Why was he running for us? Why do you need protection?"

Erwin hesitated, "They eat humans." 

Eren was sure Erwin was still talking. He was sure, because the blond's lips were still moving, he was still articulating, but Eren couldn't hear a thing. The sound of Erwin's voice mixed with the wind hitting against the window, melted in the air and stuck to his ears, burning, burning, and Eren wasn't sure when or how, but soon he was on his knees, hands planted on the floor as he tried to remember where the air went. Where his home went.

Suddenly, it all made sense. The thunderous steps threatening to break the ground, the grip that raised and squeezed the daylights out of him. He could've been... He could've been killed, could've been...

Eren doesn't remember when or how, but he's wheezing, gasping and trying to capture the thin air that still surrounds him. He doesn't remember when or how, but soon Levi's hands are tilting his chin up, raising his head, and he's _saying something_ , but Eren can't hear anything. All he knows is that there are tears in his eyes, and his stomach is burning like he just swallowed a fireplace. He thinks that maybe he heard Hanji shout something. He guesses it was important, because it made Levi jump away instantly. He guesses it was important, but he doesn't know for sure because soon, quickly, there's acid running to his throat and he's vomiting all over the floor. 

He looks up, tries to think of a way to apologize, but he can't. His mind is lost in a haze, and all he can do is sob as he remembers his friends, the ocean, his bed, and the key his father gave him. For some reason that last thought lingers in his head for longer, and his chest twinges painfully like his body is trying to tell him _something_ , something he should know. He can feel himself sinking into a pit of darkness, until two strong hands pull him up to his feet.

"Get a grip on yourself, Eren." Levi's tone was sharp, clearly displeased by the vomit on the floor, but his face remained impassive. His hands moved to Eren's shoulders, forcing him back down on the chair.

"Eren, there's still something else we need to talk about." Erwin spoke, pulling open a drawer from his desk and handing Eren a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. The boy nodded him thanks, trying to keep himself focused. "You're not the only one that suddenly appeared here." 

"What?"

If Eren wasn't so surprised by the news, he would've noticed the surprised look Hanji and Levi sent Erwin's way, or the way the latter's lips turned down into a disappointed frown. But he didn't notice, heart leaping to his throat as Erwin spoke.

"There are reports, very old reports of a man being sent to jail for wandering outside the walls. It was the first time a crime like that had ever been reported, because no one in their right mind would step outside these walls, but the man claimed he didn't remember getting there.

The police assumed he was drunk and sent him off after a day in the cell, but he insisted that he didn't know where he was or why there were walls all around him."

"S-so what did he do?"

"The report is very old and rushed, and some pages are missing, but from what I've gathered he became a rather famous doctor in town, even saving one of the districts from an epidemic."

_Doctor... Doctor…_

"He then became close to the Survey Corps and actually helped with the development of many of our fighting instruments. The Commander that wrote this report didn't specify anything, but he said the man talked about working on a new technology that could help us defeat the titans more effectively. But he never got to present his final product, disappearing suddenly without a trace. His house and basement were empty of any clue of what he was doing, and that's where the report ends."

By the time Erwin finished speaking, Eren already knew who he was talking about. He knew, but couldn't stop himself from asking anyway,

"What was his name?"

"Grisha Jaeger." 

"Aw man, goddamnit!" Connie whined, walking into the kitchen with a bucket and mop in hands, his usual cheerful expression hidden behind a burdened scowl. Sasha and Mikasa were by the oven, the former trying to steal the potatoes cooking while the latter hit her unceremoniously on the back. 

They were all gathered in the Survey Corps headquarters; an abandoned castle in the middle of the forest, perfect for experiments and 3DMT training. There resided not only the members of the Squad Levi such as Petra, Oluo, Eld and Gunther, but also soldiers with outstanding abilities, that worked closely with the Squad Levi in improving and developing new formations, as well as conducting special experiments with Squad Hanji.

Outside the castle, Armin and Annie stacked the collected firewood in rows under the sun to let the sticks dry. Armin's cheeks were reddened by the sun and his forehead glistened, but Annie kept her mouth shut and her eyes focused as they worked. From the corner of her eye she saw Connie whining his way inside the castle, but didn't give it attention. 

"What's it now, big head?" Jean asked, using two thick rags to grab the handles of a pan, wincing as the steam billowed on his face and walking away from the kitchen and into the mess hall, way before Connie could answer. The latter didn't seem phased, though, walking to the two girls by the oven and uselessly trying to steal a potato. 

"Captain Levi sent me to the Commander's office to clean the floors."

"Hm, that's not too bad, is it?" Sasha said, drooling over the way Mikasa took the steaming potatoes off the water and put them in a plate. 

"Wouldn't be if somebody hadn't vomited in there," Connie sighed, exasperated, "Now I gotta clean friggin' vomit off the Commander's office." 

"Is he sick or something?" Jean appeared again, getting ready to take another steaming pot to the mess hall.

Connie shrugged, but beckoned for the three soldiers to come closer, leaning down in that conspiratory way he always did when gossiping, "but don't y'all think it's weird? They sending us off to get wood, even though there was more than enough stacked in the back?" He eyed each one of his friends with those huge brown eyes, trying to let his skepticism be felt by everyone else, "Besides, I heard from a soldier that Captain Levi's squad found something outside the wall when they strayed from us, what'd'yall think it is? Ya think they brought it up here and are tryna hide it from us?"

"That's unlikely, Connie," Armin interjected, his sudden addition causing a shudder to run down Connie's back, "If they found something then they're telling us sooner or later, since we're so close to Captain's squad anyway." 

"Aaaah..." Connie nodded, mouth wide like he hadn't thought that far. Sasha snorted and reached for the plate of potatoes, receiving a merciless slap on the hand from Mikasa. 

**_A few minutes earlier, inside Erwin's office…_**

"That's my... Dad." 

Eren breathed out the last word with difficulty, not understanding when or how his dad got involved in this. It didn't make any sense, because Grisha never said anything about this before, and because he never once looked like he'd just travelled to another dimension where everybody he knew was different but the same. That was impossible.

"Does it have a date?" He stammered, picking at the skin of his nails, "does the report have a date?" 

Erwin looked down at a paper on the desk, eyes searching before he looked up, "828. That's even before you were born, isn't it?"

"I guess, but- Look, this doesn't make any sense. My dad never said anything about this world, or-or titans, he's a normal person, I'm sure he'd be scarred for life if he had been here, don't you think? No offense, by the way. He also... Gave me a key a few weeks before the trip, saying he thought it was my time to have it." 

Erwin nodded, "There's still a lot I can't explain. But Eren... If there's one thing I'm certain of, is that there's a reason for you to be here."

"Huh?"

"There's a reason why only you and your father were able to travel here, and my thoughts lead me to think this reason has to do with your father's key." Erwin pulled the key from his jacket's pocket, putting it down on the table.

"You see this right here?" His thick, calloused finger pointed towards the sparkly dot Eren fussed so much about only a few weeks prior.

"The jewel?" 

"Well, yes, if you'd like to call it that. This is not just any jewel, Eren. This is the material we use to build our swords. You can't just find them anywhere, they're strictly found in wall Sina and are very hard to extract from the soil. Only special people have access to them."

"The legend, just like you told me..." Eren's eyes moved to Hanji, watching the comical way their head tilted as they pointed towards their chest.

"I did?"

"Yeah, I mean, the you from my universe, anyway."

"We're eager to know more about 'us' from the other world, Eren, but right now I need you to know my plan."

"Plan?"

"Your father was a very smart man, and he helped us plenty when he was here. Even if he didn't remember a thing about it when he went back to your world, it's possible that his knowledge could still be of great help in our war against the titans." Erwin kept his eyes steady on Eren, making sure he was listening.

"Like I said, I believe there's a reason for you to be here, like there was a reason for your father to be here. You're here to help us, Eren. With that key, with your phone, and with whatever knowledge you have. With you here humanity can have hope."

Eren felt overwhelmed. His stomach lurched for the thousandth time that day, and he swore he could feel his insides tying into knots. Sure, the premise of being a hero was exciting, but he didn't think he could bear it. Not with human eating titans lurking outside those walls, not so far away from home, not where he knew everyone's faces but not their personalities. Not where everybody either hated him, or was scared shitless. He stayed like that, head down, for what felt like eternity. He could barely hear the breaths around him, too focused on a speck of dust on his pants and the way it twirled in the wind. He thought that if he didn't speak, he wouldn't have to make a choice, so his lips stayed sealed.

"Whatever you decide, you have to do it now." Levi's voice broke the silence, but Eren didn't look up. Levi sighed.

"We don't know how you got here, so we don't know how you'll get back. Which means that even if you help us, there's no guarantee that you'll ever get home."

Eren froze, looking up with wide eyes.

"We also don't know how long you can stay here for. You could be taking a shit one day and wake up butt naked in your other world, in just a second. You see the constant here? We don't know. But you also don't know what might happen if you say no."

Eren gulped.

"But whatever you decide, it has to be right here and right now. You're not about to be pampered because you got a fucking key, and what you're about to face is not anything you're ready for." 

Eren looked around, but none of the others made a move to stop Levi. 

"I don't know what's the right decision. You can say no, get out of this room and jump from the wall and hope for the best. Or you can be stupid enough to say yes to us, and lend us your strength, if you have any. So go on, and make a choice you won't regret. Your vomit stinks and I'm tired of standing here."

After that, Eren's mouth ran dry. He didn't know where to look or what to think, but Erwin's words echoed through his head in a spiral

_There's a reason for you to be here._

_There's a reason why **he** was here._

So without much thought he blurted out a single syllable, coated in fear and breathed out with determination, trying to settle the incessant beating of his heart.

"Yes."

Erwin smiled, stretching his hand.

"Welcome to the Survey Corps, Eren." 

After that meeting Eren was instructed to go back to his room, with Levi promising he wouldn't be so kind if he did so much as think about throwing up in the office again. Erwin said he would be presented in tonight's dinner as an exceptional addition to Levi's Special Operations Squad, and that only the members from that squad would know the truth about his origins. Hanji also playfully pointed out that he should enjoy his last night sleeping alone, since the next day he'd be moving to the section of the castle where the soldier's bedrooms were. There, he'd have roommates. 

Eren didn't even think about the possibility of meeting his other friends there, because it was already midday he hadn't eaten a single thing since getting in this world. His stomach growled impatiently, and he ate a meal brought to the room by Petra. He had a piece of hard bread and a steamed potato, as well as a thin soup with meat pieces. It was simple and barely tasted like anything, but he made sure to lick the bowl thoroughly, something in his gut telling him dinner wouldn't be served until later at dusk. 

After that Hanji brought him a few books, saying it was best if he knew about this world as much as possible, but Eren knew better than to read about titans right after eating, so he nodded thanks but let the books sit unopened at the edge of the bed, still trying to process the reality he was in, and how scary everything was. 

He soon fell into a deep sleep, mind filled with thoughts about home, his friends, his family, and the key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like this story please recommend to your friends 😭😭 I hope in the future this story can find more readers, for now I'll keep posting with hope!! As always, you can find me and send asks on my tumblr @lapdancesqueen


	5. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! A little late this time but i hope you enjoy!

"I don't remember hearing anything about a report," Levi said after Hanji left the room, his head tilting to the side as a challenging brow quirked up.

"I know, I'm sorry, it was one of the papers I was reading before," Erwin gestured tiredly, shoulders slumping and chest deflating as his intimidating Commander façade slipped out of view. He didn't remember when it happened or how, but it just felt easy to let himself be around Levi. Maybe it had something to do with how long they've known each other, or everything they've been through, but the origins of it didn't really matter to Erwin. It was natural, like the fluttering of a bird's wings as it soars through the air, to the point where he didn't really think about it.

"You should've told _us_ ," Levi emphasized the last word, making a point to grit his teeth to stop the 'me' from coming out, not really understanding why it was there in the first place. 

Erwin met his eyes tiredly, a weak smile gracing his lips like he'd been through this conversation a thousand times before, "I wasn't planning on saying all that. There was still a very high possibility that he was, as you said it yourself, a charlatan, so I had to see the full picture before making a decision."

"It was still very irresponsible to disclose top secret information with a brat without even consulting me or Hanji first," Levi crossed his arms and frowned profusely, making a point in looking intimidating. It didn't seem to work, though, because the blond bastard was-what? He was fucking laughing.

"What the fuck's so funny?"

Erwin tried to conceal his giggles with a cough. It took him a few seconds, which where spent with Levi watching him with a deepening frown.

"So?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that," He coughed, still laughing "Nobody says top secret anymore. You're such an old man now."

Levi huffed, battling against the flush that began tainting his cheeks, opening the office's door before giving a last look over his shoulder, "You're fucking older than me, Smith." 

°°°°°°°°

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, for the most part. Levi and his squad focused on scrubbing the doorms area from top to bottom, leaving the children to prepare dinner and take the firewood out of the sun as it started to settle in the horizon. 

The warmth from before kept breaking tides against Mikasa's chest, washing her over with a feeling she couldn't quite place, something that made her heart feel too tight inside her chest, but at the same time... She liked it. Reminded her of a long time ago, of clean sheets and sunny days.

_The wind blew whistles in the air, singing a song that made the trees dance as it passed by. The air was moist and fresh, and Mikasa was glad for the change of weather as she walked through the forest, firewood stacked behind her back. She could hear the sound of leaves crushing in the distance, but didn't bother looking back even as the steps got closer, closer, until hot breaths mingled with her fresh air._

_"Geez Mikasa, why're you going so fast?"_

_Mikasa watched the boy beside her with bored eyes, which were only betrayed by the enamoured glint swimming in them, "I'm walking normally."_

_"Yeah, yeah, you always say that," The boy breathed in deeply, hands on his knees. His hair was sweaty and pointing everywhere, and Mikasa wordlessly took the wood from his back and put it against her own, much faster than he could register._

_"I'm not your baby Mikasa, I can carry my own things!" He whined, running to catch up with her again. Mikasa just looked back with a smile on her face, cheeks flushed from the heat and chest full of warmth._

_"Say that when you're not wheezing for breath, Eren."_

"…Ren,"

"Eren!"

"Uh?!" Eren woke up startled, looking around with wide eyes and a mouth wet with drool. He could swear he heard someone calling for him, and sure enough there was Hanji in front of him, their eyes wide and sparkling.

"Did you dream? What were you dreaming about?" 

Eren's head spun. Suddenly Hanji's nose was two times bigger than before, face pressing insistently against Eren's in hopes to analyze him more, their eyes going wide like saucers. 

"So?"

"No, um," Eren backed away, glueing himself to the brick wall, "didn't dream about anything." 

"I see," Hanji straightened themselves, eyes landing on the books sitting at the edge of the bed, unopened. "Did you read anything I gave you?" 

"I..." Eren scratched his head sheepishly, wondering if he could still somehow fool Hanji into believing he had at least skimmed through the pages. They were faster though, slapping him on the back with a reassuring smile, 

"'S alright if you didn't, Eren, I'm sure it was too much to handle all at once." 

Eren sighed at that, heart swelling with warmth. Maybe they were friends, after all. 

"Doesn't even matter anyway, since you'll be reading that one way or another!" Hanji laughed.

Or maybe not so friends.

Eren was pushed out of the bedroom, following Hanji with quick strides. The picture windows in the corridor walls were still pristine like in the morning, displaying the slow death of sunlight as it dipped in the horizon, giving space to the dark purple that started to colour the sky.

 _Ah_ , Eren sighed.

_At least the sky's still the same._

"Mikasa, be careful!" Sasha jumped back, frowning at the way Mikasa almost threw the pot in the dining table, making the soup dance from side to side inside the pot, almost splashing on the floor. The raven apologized quickly, letting go of the rags she used to hold the pot's handles before rubbing her chest insistently.

The warmth from before had spread through her chest like a wildfire, burning her ribcage softly, slowly, in a way she didn't understand. It felt like her chest was pressed against someone else's into a hug, a melting hug, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Beside her, Sasha watched the scene with worry. Even though they had spent years together and managed to break through many layers of Mikasa's walls, Sasha had never seen the girl act so strangely. It was weird, the way she sat at the dining table slowly, like she carried something very fragile inside her pockets. But Sasha's worries were brushed off quickly, because all the plates and spoons were finally in their places at the table and it was time to eat.

"Captain said he'd show us somethin' tonight," Connie grinned broadly to Armin, and the blond replied with a smile of his own. Since their talk in the kitchen earlier in the day, Connie wouldn't stop fussing about what Levi's squad could've possibly found outside the walls.

Maybe they managed to capture an animal? Maybe it was a new, delicipus type of leaf, or perhaps a shining rock like the ones the nobles wore around their necks? The possibilities were endless, and Armin also gave his inputs about what would happen at dinner. 

Mikasa, much like always, didn't share the same excitement of her comrades, focusing on finishing her food when, again, a sharp pain hit her chest. This time it was almost suffocating, and the spoon fell from her grasp when steps echoed from the hall and all eyes snapped up. There, standing in the entrance of the mess hall, was him. Much older, with long silky hair and tanned skin, and much taller than Mikasa remembered.

Her mouth went dry, and if she wasn't so focused on the man a few feet away she'd notice the way Armin tensed beside her, because it was _him_. Him, with eyes so big and sparkly it could make the sun jealous. They were widened, his mouth agape as he muttered, more to himself than to anybody else,

"…kasa?"

"Eren!"

_The air was dry in the forest. Mikasa kept her head high, focused onward, breathing steadily through her nose and not letting the insistent dip of the sun in the horizon bring her confidence down. She had walked through those woods several times, so much so that the ground was flatter on the path she usually took home, but the summer rains that attacked the forest made her path disappear, becoming a muddy mess under her feet._

_The more she walked the darker and colder it got, and she had to stop several times to catch her breath. Her tiredness wasn't something that usually happened, but her mood was especially low that day, so she could be excused._

_Eren was at home with a cold, forced inside by Mikasa despite his protests that he was fine and could easily work with her to catch the fish that the overflowing rivers brought to the surface. She gave him no room for arguments, threatening to call Armin to babysit him, watching with amusement the way he whined as he lied on the bed, fuming._

_She expected to be back for supper with a basket full of fresh fish for them, but the sun was starting to set and she was nowhere near home. The rain and the wind fooled her nose and brought in smells that confused her even more, because their cabin smelled like lemongrass but all she could smell was rain._

_So she kept walking and walking, thinking about stopping on the way to maybe have a bite of the fish, raw as it was if it meant she'd have more energy, and maybe she'd have followed through with that plan when something hard suddenly slapped her kneecaps, sending her knees to the floor._

_Mikasa tried to look back, but something hit her nape and in an instant she was seeing black._

_She should be back by now. Eren knows it, and he doesn't like the way the sun is setting in the sky mercilessly, not waiting for Mikasa to come back home. He decides its best if he just goes looking for her, welcoming the stretch on his legs as he walks out of the house and in the direction of the river._

_The path is wet and muddy under his boots, and he feels light-headed the further he walks. He looks up to where the darkness has already stretched in the sky, and thinks he hears the crack of fire and the faint, distant smell of smoke._

_Could she be...?_

_Eren took a deep breath and made his way to the smoke, finding that it came from the chimmey of a cabin not too far from the lake. Both him and Mikasa knew the cabin to be abandoned, and his heart pumped in his ears as he saw the grey smoke billow in the air, whispering ominous things inside his ears, fear washing over him in waves. Eren wanted nothing more than to throw himself on the ground and fall asleep, but he forced each foot in front of the other, inching closer to the cabin's door, sticking his head on it to hear the inside._

_Mikasa was breathless. Her hands and ankles were tied behind her back and her body was contorted on the floor, her long hair creating an inky curtain around her face. She tried to see through it, but her vision was blurry from tears. Had they kicked her in the chest? She tried to breathe, but her lungs burnt. She could hear faint whispers, something about a market, but couldn't decipher what they meant because... because what?_

_She was sure she was forgetting something. Something... Something she should remember, something that's waiting for her home... Mikasa suddenly gasped, but before she could scream his name there was a knock on the door, and every noise in the room suddenly stopped._

_"Shit, shit, you told me nobody lived here!"_

_"Shut up, I'll take it!"_

_Mikasa shook her head frantically, moving the hair out of her eyes to see the cabin's door opening. The man stood in front of the door crack, hiding whoever was outside, and the voices were too low for her to hear anything. She tried to think of a way to leave, rubbing her wrists together where they were tied with the rope, watching the man at the doorway attentively when suddenly his back hunched and he fell to his knees._

_"Fuck!"_

_The other man ran to the door, his hands instantly going for the neck of the boy that had stabbed his partner._

_Eren!_

_Mikasa writhed on the floor trying to sit down, gasping Eren's name like a prayer, watching with horrified eyes as the boy was lifted from the ground by his neck, the knife he used before thrown somewhere on the floor, his feet kicking madly as his nails scratched the man's arms._

_"Asa!" Eren's eyes were glowing red, his stare digging holes in Mikasa's skull as he screamed, out of breath, "Fight!"_

_Mikasa was frozen, her entire body cemented to the ground, unmoving despite her brain's commands. She had to get up, had to save him, had to-_

_"If you lose, you die! But if you win!" Eren shouted, and Mikasa understood. "You can't stop! Fight!"_

_Then, like a thunder in the storm, a shock of heat reverberated through Mikasa's body, vibrating through the walls of her skull and boiling hot, red anger in her veins._

**_Fight!_ **

_She crawled to the knife on the floor._

**_Fight!_ **

_She sat in front of it, picking it up and cutting the rope around her wrists._

**_Fight!_ **

_She then cut the rope around her ankles, growling to the man that had Eren's neck around his fingers._

**_Fight!_ **

_With all her might, she ran. With the knife's tip facing forward, holding it with both her hands, Mikasa only stopped running when the knife's entire blade was buried deep inside the man's back._

_His knees hit the floor with a thud, hands immediately leaving Eren's neck as the boy himself fell to the ground, gasping._

_"Eren!" Mikasa ran to him, sitting on the ground with his head on her lap, her hands bloody where they touched the knife, hovering over his face not knowing whether to touch or not._

_It was only then that she saw it._

_Something that should've been so obviously clear, something she could've avoided if she was a little faster, if she hadn't froze-_

_"Kasa?" Eren coughed, hand resting where a thick, long screw was buried deep inside his waist, making it impossible for him to breathe._

_"Eren, no, no, no," Mikasa trembled, tears falling on Eren's cheeks as she watched him struggle to breathe, "What do I do? Eren, Eren tell me what do I do? Eren, don't-"_

_Eren's arm fell limp on his side._

_Mikasa knew then that the cold in her heart wouldn't thaw in this lifetime._

"Eren!" Mikasa stood, the speed of it sending the chair tumbling on the ground, startling the soldiers in the other tables. Everybody watched the scene with curious eyes:

Armin and Mikasa were both standing, eyeing the strange man in the entrance of the mess hall like he was a ghost, and Levi's scowl deepened even more as he watched the scene. Even the impassive Commander wore a tight expression on his face.

"Both of you, sit back down." Levi kept his tone cool, arms crossed. 

"N-"

"Mikasa," Armin whispered, his hand on her shoulder. 

Mikasa wanted to shout, but didn't resist when he pushed her back down on the chair. They both sat, trembling. 

"Good evening, soldiers," Erwin stepped in, a hand on Eren's shoulder, "I'd like to formally introduce a new addition to Levi's Special Operations Squad. This is Eren Jaeger, and he'll be working with you from now on."

Everybody watched Eren expectantly, waiting for him to present himself, but he couldn't. In front of him, every person he knew was there. Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Annie... For a moment Eren thought that maybe they had woken up there too, but that couldn't be right. They blended too well with the ambient. They wore simple clothing, with the color palette not going deeper than a beige. Eren noticed that Mikasa and Armin were stricken, their eyes glassy as they stared at him, watching his every move and counting every one of his breaths. 

Behind Eren, Hanji noticed he wasn't about to say anything any time soon, poking him on the rib to wake him up. "Sorry, he's a little shy. Now, everyone, enjoy your meals." 

The soldiers around obeyed instantly, only a few eyes still lingering on Eren as he walked, slowly, to the table Armin and Mikasa were. 

"Eren, sit here!" Mikasa stood from her seat, pulling the chair out and offering it to the boy, making Jean tsk on the other end of the table, "What's with you offering your seat to some newbie, Mikasa?" 

Something in Eren's chest kindled, and he didn't know if he was relieved or frustrated that Jean was still an asshole, even in another world. 

"No, it's okay, I'll sit here." Eren pointed to the chair next to Connie, sitting slowly, not knowing where to look. He could feel his friend's eyes burning holes in his skull, and didn't know what to speak about to lighten the tension. He just stared at the empty table in front of him, barely breathing. The sound of Mikasa's chair scratching the floor startled him, and he looked up when she spoke,

"I'll go get you some food, Eren, just stay here." 

She walked to the kitchen in quick strides, opening the cupboard and taking a bowl from there.

Mikasa didn't know what to think. Like the flutter of a hummingbird's wings, her heart beat inside her chest insistently, urging for her to answer it, _how is Eren back?_

He was much older than she remembered, much taller and his hair was much longer too. And as much as she wanted to question, as much as she wanted answers, she couldn't bring herself to ask. Because everytime she dreamt of him his image vanished like a cloud carried away by the winds, leaving her before she could even say anything. 

His blood was imprinted in every one of her footsteps, everywhere she went, acting as a reminder of the only time she was too weak. Now, carrying the bowl of soup back to Eren's table, Mikasa could only think of one thing: she wouldn't fail on protecting him again. 

"So, Eren," Connie elbowed him, a playful smile on his lips, "You gonna tell us how you got here or nah?"

"Well, I-"

"You must've done something very stupid for them to send you to the survey corps of all places, ha?" 

"No, I-"

"Quit teasing the kid, Connie," Jean interfered, smirking, "He obviously doesn't know how things work here, you see? He's still wearing his uniform, the poor guy!"

Eren breathed in heavily and started counting to ten. He wondered if Jean was like that when they met in school, but all he remembers is throwing punches at each other to resolve their banter. Right now, though, he knew better than to get into a fight on his first day. But that didn't mean he'd just let it slide.

"Ah, I take it you're the famous Jean?" Eren's smile was so sweet it could melt the coldest of hearts, but appeared to have the opposite effect on Jean. 

"Huh? And how do you know my name?"

"It's hard not to! You're famous, you know? They said they've found somebody just like you there."

"… Where?"

"In the zoo." 

"Huh?" 

"What's a zoo?"

"Can you eat it?" 

Eren's fists hit the table, his eyes wide, "No way you don't know what a zoo is?! Well I did think it was weird how you guys didn't laugh at the joke when the punchline was amazing!"

"So what's a zoo, Eren?" Connie nudged him again, and everybody at the table stared at him with wide eyes, bodies leaning on the table expectantly. For a moment, Eren wanted to cry. 

"It's this huge place with a bunch of animals that you can see." 

"Like a circus?" Sasha spoke through bites.

"Uh, yeah, but not quite." 

"And what kinda animals they have?"

"Ah, what're you guys doing asking about stupid animals!" Jean whined, brandishing his spoon, "This zoo thing sounds like a whole lot of bullshit to me, Eren. Where do you come from anyways?"

"Uh, I-"

Eren tensed. 

_Shit, shit, shit_

Erwin didn't give him any fake birthplace, and he guessed the last thing he should say was Germany. His face heat up, not knowing where to look. He was about to just blurt out some stupid made up name when Armin spoke, for the first time since he arrived,

"He's from Shiganshina." 

All the eyes of the table moved from Eren to Armin. The blond's cheeks burned at the attention, but his eyes remained fixated on Eren.

"Eren's an old friend of ours, from before the military. Right, Eren?" 

"Y-yeah, we go way back," Eren laughed nervously, hoping it'd be enough to satisfy his friends. Fortunately for him a new subjec quickly opened up. Unfortunately, it was started by Jean.

"What's up with this stupid hair of yours anyway? You look like a woman." 

"And you look like a horse faced bastard."

"Hah?!" Jean stood, fists in the air.

"Your ears not working or what?!" Eren stood as well, his own fists up.

"To get into a fight with me you gotta be a real suicidal bastard!" 

And just like that, all hell broke loose. 

•••••••

After dinner, all soldiers were sent to their rooms. Mikasa insisted that she should sleep in the same room as Eren, and it took a great amount of talking and threatening from Levi to let Eren go. Her only consolation was that Armin would be there. 

Before going upstairs, Eren and Armin decided to go outside and pick up some water from the well to wash their faces. 

The wind blew whisles as they walked to the well, their shoes crunching the leaves on their path. The moon shone brightly, showing them the way, and Eren was _nervous_. 

Nervous because what was he supposed to say? If none of his friends knew who he was at the table, then that meant not even Armin knew who he was. And if that was true, then why-

"Take that bucket over there."

"Okay," Eren nodded stiffly, and they both used the water to wash their faces. It was only then that he realized how thirsty he was, drinking some of the water left in the bucket. He was glad he swallowed it all down before Armin spoke again, not sure how he'd react if the water was still midway through.

"Eren."

"Hm?" 

"Who are you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on tumblr as @lapdancesqueen. Kudos and comments are appreciated :) 🥰


End file.
